Every northern lights tour from Reykjavík chases the same sky, and no fare can buy the lights. What a fare buys is the vehicle, the size of the group, the photos, the hours out, and what happens if the sky stays shut. Settle those five and you can choose between the Reykjavik Northern Lights guided tours in minutes. Below, each choice is set out with the figures the tours publish.
You are choosing between five kinds of night. A big coach is the cheapest seat and leaves from a numbered bus stop. A small group rides in a minibus and usually adds photos. A 4x4 or a super jeep carries fewer people and more kit. A boat sails from the Old Harbour for two hours and needs no pickup. A private hunt carries only your party.
The guide's job is the same on all of them. It reads the cloud forecast, picks a direction, and drives (or sails) you away from the city's light. None of them can promise you a display. So compare what each one gives you on the night, and what it gives you if the night fails.
| Format | Group, where stated | Hours | Fares | If you see nothing | Photos | Start |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Big coach | 57 to 65 | 4 | $84 to $85 | One more night free | Phone tips on one | Bus Stop 12 or 5, or pickup |
| Small group | 14 to 28 | 3 to 6 | $114 to $221 | None stated up to unlimited | Taken for you on most | Hotel or a set stop |
| 4x4 or super jeep | 14 to 16 | 3 to 5 | $174 to $244 | One, lifetime or unlimited | Included | Your hotel |
| Boat | 75 to 150 | 2 | $86 to $105 | A free re-sail | None | The Old Harbour quay |
| Private | Your party | 3 to 4 | $260 to $1,618 | One on the photographer's night | On the photographer's night | Your hotel |
Every fare here is per person except the photographer's private night, which is priced for a group of up to four. The visitor guide sets out what each kind of fare covers, line by line.
This is the first choice most people make, and it is mostly about company. The coach hunts cost $84 to $85 and state caps of 57 and 65. At each stop you step off with the rest of the coach. The small groups cost $114 to $221 and most cap the group at 18 or 19.
The coaches have real strengths. You can walk to Bus Stop 12 or Bus Stop 5 instead of waiting for a pickup. You get hot chocolate, and if the lights stay away you ride again free on one other night. The cheapest coach has the most mixed record, though: 4.2 across 2,025 reviews, below every small group.
A small group buys you a guide who knows your name and, on most fares, photos taken for you. It does not always buy a small vehicle. One minibus fare runs its free retry on a big bus, and another states a maximum of 28. Read the cap, not the word. The small-group northern lights tours are set side by side on their own page, and the northern lights bus tours on theirs.
A jeep changes the ride, not the sky. The 4x4 minibus carries 16 at most, with hand warmers, pastries and cocoa, and photos by the guide. If you see nothing, you can re-book free for life. The stargazing super jeep carries 14 and brings a telescope. It collects you between 21:00 and 21:30 and lets you retry as often as you need within two years.
The Super Jeep hunt runs 8pm and 9pm departures with a driver-guide, free photos and national park fees in the fare. Food and drinks are not included. Several parties share the vehicle, so do not book it expecting a jeep to yourself. It operates in all weather, and you call on the day to hear whether it runs. The northern lights jeep tours are compared in full on their own page.
For a short night, yes. The Old Harbour cruise sails for about two hours from the quay at Ægisgarður 5c, with warm floatable overalls in the fare. Its line "Sighting guarantee - or try again for FREE!" is a free re-sail, not a promise of lights. The other boat leaves Ægisgarður 2 from $86 and has a café and a restroom on board.
What a boat cannot do is move to a gap in the cloud. A coach or minibus can drive inland to clearer sky; a boat has the bay. One traveller put the trade simply: a two-hour experience against a five-hour bus tour. The northern lights boat tours have their own comparison.
When you are four, or when you need the night to bend round you. Private fares run from $260 to $1,618. The private car costs $260 a person, needs at least two adults and takes up to eight. The private 4x4 costs $649 a person and is guided in English or Spanish.
The photographer's night is the one fare quoted for the whole group: $1,618 for up to four. Split four ways, that is about $404 each, which is less than one seat in the private 4x4. It includes at least five photos with the lights if they show, help with your own camera, and one extra tour free if the sky stays shut.
See every private northern lights tour from Reykjavik with its rules.
This is where fares differ most, and it matters more than the price if you have spare nights. From the most generous down:
A weather cancellation is a different thing. A tour that never ran is rebooked or refunded. A tour that ran under cloud is a tour you took, and only the retry helps. The how to see the northern lights post explains the difference.
Most small groups do it for you. The guide takes pro aurora and group shots on the top-rated small group, and the snowsuit night gives you unlimited high-resolution photos, tripods and help with your settings. The stargazing jeep and the midnight minibus include photos too. The minibus with woollen blankets promises them "if conditions allow".
Others teach you instead. One small group helps you shoot on your own camera or phone, and one coach gives phone tips. The plain coach and both boats leave photos to you. It matters more than it sounds: one traveller found that you see more on a camera than you do in person.
Book the first night. If it clouds over, your retry still has nights to land on. One party booked the trip for their first night on exactly that reasoning. With two or three nights, an unlimited or lifetime retry is worth more than any add-on.
With a single evening, a retry is worth nothing to you. Pay for the night itself: a guide who reads the forecast and a vehicle that can drive to clear sky. The nights planner works through two, three and five-night stays.
Match the minimum age first. The Super Jeep and the snowsuit night take children from 5, the plain coach from 6 and the top-rated small group from 7. The stargazing jeep starts at 10. The Old Harbour cruise has an infant band from 0 to 5, so a baby can come.
Then think about the hour. One party on the small group left at 10:00pm and came back at 4:00am. Another party on the Super Jeep had four young children, who were cold and tired. A two-hour boat is the gentler first try. The northern lights with kids post covers layers, ages and sleep.
The coach from Bus Stop 12 or Bus Stop 5 at $84 is the floor, with hot chocolate and one more night free if you see nothing. The second boat costs $86, and you walk to the quay. The cheapest small group costs $114 and includes digital photos of you under the lights.
On a budget, the retry is the thing to protect. A cheap fare with one free night more often beats a dearer fare with none stated.
| If you are | Book |
|---|---|
| Here for one or two nights | The first night, on a fare with a free retry |
| Watching every dollar | The coach hunt, or the cheaper boat |
| Keen to come home with photos | A small group that takes them for you |
| Travelling as four | The photographer's private night |
| Travelling with young children | The boat, or a hunt from age 5 |
| Wanting a jeep and fewer seats | A 4x4 or the stargazing super jeep |
Still between two? The FAQs answer the practical questions: pickups, ages, what to wear and cancellation. The forecast guide shows how to read the night yourself.
Four hours in a 4x4 minibus of 16 at most, with hand warmers, pastries and cocoa, photos by the guide, and free re-booking for life if the lights stay away.
From $174 per person
Check Availability
Four hours in a minibus of 18 at most from set bus stops, with hot chocolate, a chocolate bar and digital photos of you and the aurora; from age 6.
From $114 per person
Check Availability
Three hours with a local guide for your own party, collected at your hotel; at least two adults, marked wheelchair accessible, and no free retry stated.
From $260 per person (minimum 2)
Check AvailabilityNext: Price the night in what each fare buys, or plan your nights in the nights planner. Every fare sits side by side on Reykjavik Northern Lights Tours.